4th year Bachelor of Public Administration (BPA) Spec. Honours (Management Stream)

My name is Naser Akbar, I’m a fourth-year student studying in the Bachelor of Public Administration (BPA) Specialized Honours program. I transferred my credits from Afghanistan in 2018. Joining York University, I initially planned to continue my previous program in economics and finance. I started off my first semester enrolling in economics classes, but I was not yet sure if I wanted to go all the way. I was still searching for the right program considering my background and interests. It was not until the end of the first semester that I met with the Public Policy and Administration Student Association (PPASA) to talk about my interest in governance and policy making that I was convinced this is the right program for me. What makes this program one of the best at York U is its extensive combination of governance, policy, law, business and economics.

In my 4^th year AP/PPAS 4200 6.0 Applied Public Policy Analysis course, I drafted with my teammates a policy proposal for the City of Vaughan Emergency Program. The policy recommendation was based on the City of Vaughan’s need for more municipal emergency issuing powers through legislative means. As a student in our Program Evaluation courses AP/PPAS 4310 3.0 and 4320 3.0, I had the opportunity alongside a team of students to evaluate City of Vaughan’s Emergency Program on where citizens go for emergency related information and provided policy recommendations based on extensive research, literature review of Canadian and foreign emergency programs, and a survey of Vaughan residents. My focus in the research was to draw up a logic model, conduct comprehensive literature review of other jurisdictions and best practices, provide a timeframe, data entry, and primary budget for the evaluation assessment. The report was submitted and presented to the City of Vaughan’s Emergency Program Manager and is currently utilized to improve emergency communication during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Overall, the BPA program equipped me with practical policy-making skills and prepared me for real-world challenges. The School of Public Policy and Administration (SPPA) faculty are different from others in that students can genuinely meet professors and other student leaders at school networking events designed to connect new students with program alumni and the faculty. The faculty members are caring and always encouraging students to get involved through the student association and other leadership programs and jobs. The professors are not only your guide in class, but they also help, and support students to find the right jobs and opportunities and embrace new challenges. Before applying to the Ontario Public Service (OPS), I asked for guidance on application strategies to get selected for public service jobs. Their advice and reference letters helped me secure the position of Program and Policy Assistant with the Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) during this Summer 2020. My duties include, but are not limited to, drafting policies and procedures and working with the Archives of Ontario on creating/updating records retention schedules for EQAO. Most public servants start their career with summer student positions, and I am hoping that this opens new doors and opportunities to me as well.

Besides that, I am an executive at the York Debating Society, providing debate training sessions and organizing in-house high school debate tournaments for high school students. Debating has expanded my worldview and pushed me to often argue issues that I do not support which makes you more understanding of different perspectives and why people have certain opposing opinions and beliefs.

The BPA is not just a program at York U, but a family of caring and hardworking people who look out for one another. They do not just provide classes and faculty but further your knowledge of the industry where future public servants and leaders are trained. It has not only increased my knowledge of the field, but also deepened my interest in governance and policy making. I could not be any happier to have joined this program. – Naser Akbar